The flat tire

Since I first got the Rabbit pickup, I was unhappy with its hard, bumpy ride. Some shocks were replaced early on by my mechanic, but that didn't improve things noticeably. All the mechanics I talked to said that different shocks wouldn't really help, and that softer shocks would make the car less tolerant for heavy loads. Still, I see other pickups, which can take a lot of weight, have a very smooth ride. I still suspect that some kind of luxurious shocks should be able to improve the situation - we'll see.

As a possible alternative to replacing the shocks, I've been looking into replacing the tires. Today, having the additional motivation of prescience concerning an impending flat tire, I went to Town Tire, which has always been very helpful with advice, and good service, to ask about replacing the tires with more plush ones. They said the tires look like they're still relatively new, from 08, and that they don't recommend changing them. I appreciated the honesty. One of the tires has been losing air, though, so I said I would return soon for a diagnostic, and also regarding the question of changing the shocks. My urge was just to change the tires right there and then, for safety's sake. I should have listened to my instincts.

My wife needed me to pick up an antique bathtub in a nearby town, so I drove with the pickup towards High Springs, FL. For the first time, I drove the car on the highway. I didn't try to go past 65 mph, not wanting to push my luck. I hit some kind of object on the way -  it felt like a rock or piece of metal bounced off the bottom of the car. I decided not to take it too seriously, and the the car didn't seem to be affected by it. But, deep down it did spark some anxiety. My ride on the highway was only about 15 minutes, but soon I was glad to exit alive.

Just as I came off the exit ramp, wondering why that experiment turned out so well, a woman in a car told me my right rear tire was very low. I pulled over into a gas station. The tire was completely out of air. I added air and it just blew out of an 1/8 inch hole. I guess today is my flat tire lesson from the internship on wheels.

I called the nearby City Boys Tires and Brakes and they said they'd be available for another 20 minutes. This time table added stress to the situation. Some guy in a pickup truck yelled: "Kickass pickup!". That cheered me up a little (I chose to believe he wasn't messing with me). Inside the gas station store I got advice on some products that fix tires. A jovial, bearded man recommended this tire fix product which involves a thick, needle-like object and sticky rubber strips, as well as the tire foam solution, which he said is very effective and easy to apply. I tried the tire fix option first, but was too anxious to get it to work. The instructions didn't make any sense to me, although I understand it in principle. Then I just screwed in the foam can into the tire valve and it blew up the tire, while coating the inside. I was very impressed. I will from now on always carry one of those in the truck bed box.

I hastily made it to the tire place and the tire actually held up. I considered just driving onwards, but sensed that this might not be safe. I had no appointment, so waited a while to have the tire looked at. A guy came out and asked "What's Biodiesel?". I explained briefly. He seemed giddy at the sight of the car.

Recently some cable dropped out from under the dash, which disconnected the glow plug and the radio and iphone charger. I hadn't really cared before, but today I was very dependent on my phone since I needed directions to the place for picking up the tub, and my family was going out to dinner and I needed to stay in touch. My phone was losing battery already. I asked him to have a quick look at the cable, and he immediately found the right place to plug it back in. Then he drove the car into the shop.

After some waiting and planning the next steps of the day, I was told the tire was too blown out to repair and that they didn't have any replacements. They did notice the spare under the car, but that had dry rot and wasn't usable. Also, some of the bolts were too long to attach the spare tire anyway. This meant I was stuck there. I looked into taking a cab home, but that was going to be over $90. I called my wife arranged her picking me up after the dinner and paying for the tub in High Springs, just to ensure the sale. All in all, it was a strange day, but I always enjoy being out in the country and having a good topic with people.

Lessons learned:
I now know what's meant by dry rot. Always carry a quick tire fix, such as a tire foam can. Know the real age of your tires and carry a functioning spare that fits the bolts, plus the tools to change it. Practice changing a tire before you need to. Have a backup charging solution for the phone: flat tire = no transportation = phone is the most important object.